


MARZ Rising

by FandomPariah



Series: Downward Spiral Continuity [5]
Category: RWBY
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, Fluff, LGBTQ Character, Multi, Original Character(s), Post-Canon, Teenage dumbassery
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-12
Updated: 2021-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-19 11:40:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,697
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29998788
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FandomPariah/pseuds/FandomPariah
Summary: It's been roughly thirty years since Ruby Rose saved Remnant from Salem and almost a decade since it was saved again.Salem is gone yet the Creatures of Grimm remain and now a new generation of Hunters are ready to begin their story....By enrolling at the Breaktide Academy of Menagerie where they'll be trained by living legends including Team CFVY and Ruby Rose herself.Part 5 of the Spiral-Verse series.
Relationships: Coco Adel/Velvet Scarlatina, Penny Polendina/Ruby Rose, Yatsuhashi Daichi/Velvet Scarlatina
Series: Downward Spiral Continuity [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/736092
Comments: 2
Kudos: 3





	MARZ Rising

RWBY & All associated trademarks are property of Rooster Teeth (RIP Monty Oum)  
I claim no ownership of anything except my own original characters.  
I am making no money from this.

**Chapter 01: A New Era**

First there had been Team RWBY.

It had been almost thirty years since Ruby Rose, legendary Huntress and vaunted saviour of Remnant with the aid of her equally famous team-mates Weiss Slate, formerly Schnee and Blake and Yang Belladonna along with their allies Team GRAP, Team CFVY, the remaining members of Team JNPR, Penny Polendina and Oscar Pine had led the charge to do what none before them had dared and launch a counter attack on Salem herself, being who acted as the consciousness and willpower of the Creatures of Grimm made manifest and after overcoming each of the Queen of the Grimm's schemes and ploys in turn an assault was led on the fortress she had built on the blasted and desolate remains of the island of Menagerie. Fox Alistair and Oscar Pine had been among the many to lose their lives in the battle, yet heroism had finally paid off and Ruby Rose had emerged victorious whilst Salem had been sealed away and trapped beyond the physical realm; leading Remnant into an age of peace which had lasted for two decades.

Then there had been Team FADE.

In the interceding years great strides had been made towards human and Faunus equality, especially in the Kingdom of Atlas, efforts to rebuild the ruined Faunus homeland had begun with the remaining members of Team CFVY watching over a settlement that they had helped found named Port Alistair which had steadily grown into a sizeable city whilst damage done to the Kingdoms had been steadily repaired with the Kingdom of Vale re-imagining itself as New Vale where Glynda Goodwitch had founded the Halo Academy. It was this academy that Team FADE, consisting of Felix Xiao Long the adopted son of Blake and Yang, Arctus Slate the son of Weiss Schnee and her husband Gangrel Slate of Team GRAP, Diamond Sustrai-Black now Slate, daughter of Mercury Black and Emerald Sustrai and Eagle Arc, niece of Jaune Arc had attended and forced to become heroes of Remnant far sooner than expected as even from the shadowy space between realities, beyond time and space Salem had continued her machinations; Team FADE had found themselves embattled against criminals, tides of Grimm led by sentient and self aware horrors including terrifying creatures such as Phobos and Pantheon, a resurgent White Fang led by a fanatical leader, a rogue android with a soul sent out to destroy a world he believed had wronged her and even an incarnation of the Wizard whom Salem had finally used tear her way into Remnant once again and begin her war against all creation once again until finally Team FADE, joined by their friends Team NEON, Team GORE and Team CLIR launched an attack on Salem which had culminated in the final defeat and demise of the Queen of the Grimm; the public story detailing how Ruby Rose had once again saved Remnant at the last moment.

From there several more years of peace had reigned in which Remnant had healed once again and with that healing had come progress, technology had advanced and the Kingdoms had expanded outwards to reclaim land that had previously been ravaged by the Grimm whilst New Vale's ruined Capital had been rebuilt once more as Neo Vale with Halo Academy currently under the watchful eye of Headmaster Lie Ren, his wife and deputy Nora and the nominally retired Qrow Branwen; the free cities of Mantle had been formed, an alliance and conglomeration of Atlesian settlements beyond the Atlas's seven cities which had formed an alliance of their own and broken away from the Kingdom, the Anima Diaspora was slowly uniting under a single banner as dozens of tribes and settlements at the very borders of Mistrali territory united under the governance of the current head of the Nikosi Tribe. Most importantly however was that Menagerie had been declared a Kingdom in its' own right, various settlements had sprung up across the island whose barren land had been healed from the stain of corruption in places by the influence of the Spring Maiden, those settlements had united and Port Alistair had become the Capital City with the recognition coming at the same time that the remaining members of Team CFVY had opened the doors of the islands' first Hunter Academy to students from all across Remnant; the Breaktide Academy.

It was all of these events that had led to the current moment within Schnee Manor, where Athena-Jade Slate the second child of Weiss and Gangrel Slate was cutting her own hair over a bathroom sink with more enthusiasm than skill.

At seventeen years of age the young Bear Faunus stood at a rather unimpressive height of a little more than five feet tall, something Athena-Jade had inherited from her mother and often lamented though this lack of height was offset by a powerful and muscular physique that was in equal parts inherited from her father and a product of her own hard work and dedication which her current clothing, an outfit that Athena-Jade had decided would be her 'combat gear' for the foreseeable future helped to highlight an accentuate. Athena wore a pair of stylish yet highly practical hi-top sneakers, dull glossy black plating worked over the heel, toe and upper layer of the otherwise pristine white shoes with pale jade green laces; above this she wore a pair of deep blue, stylishly distressed and cut-off denim shorts that had once been a pair of jeans which reached to above her knee and were held up by a plethora of stylish white belts, many of which were worn at odd angles where they had missed their intended belt-loops whilst also having a series of small pouches fitted to them showing that there were some practical considerations to the stylistic choice; below the shorts was a pair of shin-guards in the same glossy black colour as the plating on her footwear, the shorts and armour left a sizeable portion of Athena's legs bare which only served to show off her pale, almost porcelain complexion and more importantly to the Faunus herself the powerful muscles of her calves and thick thighs. Her upper body was similarly powerfully built and clad in a delicate mixture of style and practicality, whilst she didn't have visible abs and was perhaps a little wider set than was average Athena's core muscles were toned and strong and they along with her slight curves were hidden first by a form fitting white tank-top and then by more glossy black armour, in this case a light tactical vest which was in turn covered by a sleeveless jacket in a pale, smokey blue-grey colour which reached to her prominent hips and sported a broad and pronounced collar upon which Athena's personal emblem could be seen, one half of the Schnee family crest displayed on either side in a pale jade green. The sleeveless jacket only served to highlight just how large Athena's shoulders were and from there the eye was naturally drawn to her impressive biceps, the left of which had a bandanna the same colour as her emblem and laces tied around it seemingly to make their size even more noticeable whilst her forearms were unadorned save for a pair tightly wound fabric bracers around her wrists. A close examination would reveal that one of Athena-Jade's Faunus traits was hidden within her fingertips where, in place of fingertips she had wickedly sharp and retractable claws that were dark in colour and had often been mistaken for painted nails when not in use.

Despite all of the fierceness of her form Athena-Jade still boasted a face that was youthful and welcoming wit features that were an almost perfect balance between defined and rounded smoothness, often sporting a toothy grin; though now it was currently drawn into a frown which spoke of concern and disheartened irritation. Her cheeks were full and stood out a little more than she would have liked, though were just as utterly colourless as the rest of her whilst along with her mothers' skin tone she had inherited the piercing sapphire eyes of the Schnee family whilst from her father the Bear Faunus had inherited a nose whose black surface was distinctly inhuman though she considered herself somewhat lucky that she had not inherited the snout like facial structure that her father and brother had; attention was deflected away from her small and almost button like nose by a pair of band-aids, one across the bridge of her nose and another adorning her right cheek which both bore cheery and cartoonish designs, Athena-Jade had been training to be a Huntress for years and during that time had received so many blows to the face that she had simply taking to wearing the band-aids as an accessory so that those around her were never quite sure of if whether she had recently been subjected to a broken or bloodied nose or not. Athena's current cause for annoyance however was her hair which was the same snowy white common to all members of the Schnee family, a sizeable portion of which littered the ground and sink as she stared at the results in the mirror with open dissatisfaction before turning her gaze towards the implement she had used to shear herself, a broad bladed and terribly sharp hunting knife that belonged to her father was more suited to cutting through Grimm flesh.

Athena-Jade would be leaving Atlas to attend the Breaktide Academy of Menagerie first thing the following morning and she had intended for this to be a symbolic gesture.

For years she had worn her hair in a style featuring a ponytail and bangs very much reminiscent of Diamond of Team FADE, her sister in law and someone the young Faunus had always admired however she had decided that both for the practical reasons involving the climate of Menagerie and as a way marking the true beginning of her own identity as a Huntress she would give herself an undercut and cut her mass of fluffy, almost shaggy hair to something more manageable and a little above shoulder length; to say that this had gone poorly was an understatement however and the longer she looked at the uneven mess she had made in the mirror of her bedrooms' en-suite bathroom the more frustrated she became, swallowing thickly and pushing her sudden anger at herself back as the urge to hit something rose up until finally a distraction came in the form of the bathroom door squeaking open, accompanied by the sound of chitinous pincers clacking.

"AJ you can't stay in here all night, we threw a party just for-Oh….oh no, AJ what did you do?"

"Take a wild guess" Athena answered, an education in the most private and renowned school within the upper echelons of Atlesian society gave a refined accent which stood at odds with her low and husky voice and the deadpan delivery she affected. The speaker was Coral Scylla, a Crab Faunus a year younger than Athena herself who had been raised within a cell of the resurgent White Fang until their defeat wherein she had been taken into the Slate and Schnee family; making her Athena's adopted sister. Coral's most prominent feature were the large, bulky and craggy pincers she had in place of hands though the feature Athena found herself complaining about in good nature on a regular basis was her height as the Crab Faunus currently stood at over six feet tall and her growth showed no signs of slowing though both of these facts were offset by a perpetually, if somewhat nervously smiling face framed by rose gold coloured locks, her penchant for frilly and pretty clothing and her sheepish nature, indeed Coral was the only one of her siblings to consider a career in Hunting Grimm and was well on track to work alongside her beloved Uncle Whitley within the SDC one day soon as she was considered something of a prodigy by her teachers.

Not that any of that stopped the teasing between the sisters in any way.

"Oh my Oum did you actually cut a hair with one of Gangrel's knives?" laughter came bubbling out of Coral despite what appeared to be a genuine effort to stop it

"I wanted to-"

"You wanted to have an edgy bad-ass moment like something you saw in a movie and you didn't want to risk using anybodies' sword so you used that instead, in your bedroom in a mansion….You absolute dolt!" Coral was laughing in earnest now, doubled over and clutching at the bathroom door with a pincer though carefully enough to ensure she didn't break it and causing Athena to visibly bristle at the comment, a low growl of frustration escaping her until instead of reacting in anger she simply huffed and seemed to crumple in on herself; fidgeting uncomfortably with her broad shoulders sagging as she found herself measuring her own attempt at a triumphant emergence into the world beyond Upper Atlas against that of her brother Arctus before she almost whined out in a tone that betrayed some deep-seated vulnerability.

"I'm gonna be training under some of the best to ever do it Coral I'm going to Breaktide, it's people Mum and Dad have known since forever….I just, I wanted to look like I belong there, not just that I got in because of favours y'know?" the truth of the matter was that whilst it was by far the newest of the five Hunter Academies by roughly a century, having been in operation for a few short years and as such the honour roll of its' students was drastically shorter than that of its' contemporaries attending Breaktide Academy was still a prestige and privileged with its' limited places competed and fought for desperately The esteem and renown the academy was held in coming from the identities of those who taught there, not only the remaining members of Team CFVY who had founded it but several other legendary Hunters including none other than Athena-Jade's honorary aunt and Weiss Schnee's partner at Beacon, Ruby Rose and her wife Penny Polendina. Sighing again the dejected Bear Faunus ran her hands through her shorn hair, noticing the change in the way it felt and muttered out a barely audible question.

"Does it really look that bad?"

"I mean yeah kinda" Coral admitted with an apologetic wince after considering her words carefully for a moment, pincers chattering nervously before searching a way to reassure her sister "But it'll be fine, we can even it out it'll look great; Mum can probably fix it up for you"

"I don't want help with-"

"AJ you dolt, it's a haircut!" Coral exclaimed in sudden frustration "I get it, you want to go out into the wide scary world and prove that you can handle it all, that's why you're leaving us all behind but can you just this once stop being stubborn, please!" Coral's voice echoed off of the bathroom tiles and Athena stood stiff and silent, bright blue eyes wide in shock and keen Faunus hearing straining to pick up any sign that the outburst had been heard by anyone else; when the only sound she heard was a low rhythmic bass tone from the small leaving party that Coral had mentioned she stepped forwards and wrapped her arms around the younger sister who now towered over her.

"I'm sorry" she breathed out, allowing herself to relax and feeling tension that had been building for weeks as her departure drew closer flooding out of her "I'm gonna miss you too"

"It's okay" Coral mumbled, patting her hair with a pincer "Just call me and text me when you can"

"Of course, Arctus used to send me photos of everything when he went to New Vale" Athena-Jade beamed, reminiscing the memories fondly and eager to be the impressive older sibling before she turned her thoughts back to the present and gesturing to her hair once again "You really think Mum can fix this mess?"

"If she can't Gangrel probably can….But he'll tease you about it and you'll deserve it, 'cos you're dumb" Coral answered with a snort of laughter "They can probably fix it before everyone else gets here"

"Who's coming?" Athena asked, both curious and oddly wary "I didn't want a big send off….I haven't even been initiated yet, things can still go wrong"

"But they won't 'cos you're awesome" Coral replied, cutting off any of the Bear Faunus's self doubts before they could surface "And it was gonna be just a family thing but I mentioned it to Henry and he got all of your school friends to come….Oh, oh and Summer and TJ are coming as well; their flight landed about half an hour ago"

"Ugh you guys….you're the best" Athena grinned, unable to even pretend to be annoyed at the situation; Henry Marigold the Third had been her best friend for well over a decade and the fact that he would not be joined her in Atlas as he had no intention of following a career as a Hunter stung almost as much as being away from family. Summer Pyrrha and Tai-Jaune, more commonly known as TJ Rose were the twin children of her Aunts Ruby and Penny, both of whom had inherited Ruby's famous Silver Eyes but had elected not to continue the family legacy of Hunting Grimm, with Summer already having a promising career as an athlete whilst TJ would be attending college in Atlas's Capital City; seeing them both would certainly be welcome but Athena couldn't help but notice that a certain name had been absent

"Is Arctus coming?"

"We tried, he's on a mission" Coral admitted and Athena took a moment to nod in understanding and force herself not to be disappointed, her brother was a Hunter and he had a duty to Remnant no matter how much she would have liked him to be there.

"Okay come on let's go" Athena managed a smile and made her way out of the en-suite bathroom before making to leave her bedroom and head towards where her friends and family had gathered

"Just promise that if there's a cake you won't try and burn yourself with the candles to get a cool scar or ask Weiss if she use Myrtenaster to give you a piercing" Coral added, voice taking on a singsong quality as she followed after her and teased in the way that only younger siblings could. Athena-Jade merely huffed and rolled her eyes before uttering words that she had told her siblings in jest many, many times before.

"You suck, you suck so bad, you're the suckiest"

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

To say that the life of Astra Mars had been interesting thus far, even at the young age of seventeen would be an understatement of ludicrous proportions.

The young Deer Faunus was a native of the Capital of New Vale, the city currently known as Neo Vale and had been since birth and as such had been subjected to regular large scale Grimm incursions on the city during the time of Salem's second campaign against Remnant, making them part of a generation who had spent a regrettable portion on their formative years cowering in bunkers whilst Hunters fought to keep them safe outside. During that time however Astra's life had been irrevocably changed for the better when it was revealed that they had an older brother who they had been previously unaware and who in turn had been unaware of them.

Felix Xiao Long, adopted son of Blake and Yang Xiao Long of Team RWBY.

Astra had always admired and idolised the Hunters as most children across Remnant did however as a short and plump child often targeted by bullies the idea of joining their ranks had seemed ludicrous until Felix's arrival; under the tutelage of their brother who had still been a student himself at the time Astra studied and trained until the no longer recognised themselves, remaking themselves into something greater than they had ever believed possible until finally the had earned a place at Signal Academy and spent several years travelling to ad from the mainland to the island of Patch to train under Yang Xiao Long. During these years Astra had began to grow and learn things about their own identity, first and foremost that their gender and sexuality were not limited and constrained by any binary options, a realisation which their parents had been supportive of and tried their best to learn everything they could about which Astra had been monumentally grateful for; more than that however as they had steadily become stronger and more fearsome, their former bullies unable to bother them they realised that they enjoyed their strength and relished any chance to put it to the test which had led to them earning a place at the Breaktide Academy on Menagerie which they would be departing for the following morning.

In the meantime however there was one last test of strength to attend to.

The streets of the decidedly working class part of Neo Vale were dark, flickering and broken street-lights superseded by the light of the shattered moon as it neared midnight, the small and cramped houses and businesses wedged into the space that had once been occupied by one of the monolithic Hive Towers of the cities' previous iteration whilst two of those same enormous structures rose up in the distance on either side like sentinels were new, built within the last five years yet at the same time had already been targeted by vandals who had left graffiti proclaiming gang affiliations or simply displaying the talent of the artist responsible on various walls and shutters, yet as Astra Mars took care stay hidden behind a shadowy corner their focus stayed firmly on a business whose shutters remained untouched by crime; or more specifically the car currently pulling up outside of it.

"Okay, show time" Astra breathed out, voice wavering with nervous energy as five figures slipped out of the vehicle and quickly set about trying to prise open the door of the business without triggering any alarms. The business in question was a small independent Dust supplier owned and run by a single ageing man who had become a target for increasingly bold criminals, Astra had learned of this fact through a classmate as Signal who, whilst being distantly related to the owner felt unable to act as they did not live on the mainland and naturally the Deer Faunus had chosen to offer their services both for the simple satisfaction of doing the right thing and the chance to measure their abilities outside of controlled environments and school-yard brawls; all the justification they needed coming in the form of a single sentence

"What would Ruby Rose do?" with that thought in mind Astra prepared to move at the exact moment the would be burglars opened the door and began to make their way into the store; Astra was currently unarmed however as they had chosen to leave their weapons at home since they had already been packed away in preparation for their departure for Menagerie and also were highly distinctive, Astra's combat attire was equally distinctive and their appearance striking though they had simply been unable to resist.

Astra stood at a few inches under six feet tall though this was only if one didn't include two of their most notable features, a pair of branching antlers which sprouted from their skull and spanned wide enough to make wearing many kinds of shirt difficult and their hair which had been sheared away at the sides until only the merest fuzz of its' natural auburn colour remained whilst on top it had been styled into a swept forward Mohawk made of spikes whose tips had been dyed a bright, fiery red. Their skin was a light, pale brown that was almost beige and their figure was athletic, if a little on the slender side though whilst their muscles were not bulging they were clearly defined and held the promise of speed and strength; Astra's face in the meantime featured a somewhat pointed chin and cheeks that were perhaps a little too drawn though they still managed to look healthy and their bright, sea-green eyes were currently framed by expertly applied winged eyeliner and lipstick whose jet black colour had the appearance of warpaint in the current context.

The attire they had chosen to make the combat gear that would become associated with them decidedly favoured form over function though Astra would happily defend their decisions; they wore a pair of chunky, comfortable and well worn yet still pristine white sneakers with red laces and a pair of jeans so faded and pale that their original colour was almost lost, with artistically made rips at the knees. Above this Astra wore a black sleeveless gi with a red trim that was secured by a red belt, though whilst they did practice martial arts their own rank was higher still and the colour was chosen simply for its' aesthetic appeal whilst worn over it was a red leather jacket with sleeves that ended and the elbows and featured more buttons and buckles than was strictly necessary, the jacket was worn with a popped collar and on its' back was Astra's emblem; a five pointed star with twin contrails of fire rising from it in the shape of Antlers. The outfit was completed with a pair of black fingerless gloves with studded knuckles which left Astra's black and red painted nails on display.

This was the sight that greeted the young man whose face was hidden beneath a hood and bandanna as Astra came streaking across the street at speeds only someone with an unlocked Aura could manage.

"Heads up ass-hole!" Astra called out, mildly annoyed at themselves for not having a better opening line prepared after waiting for the criminals to arrive for so long though tangential concerns were quickly forced aside as they drew close and perfectly carried the momentum of their stride into a punishing front kick to the thieves' chest. The burglar, presumably a member of some small-time gang was sent hurtling backwards and into the store, ricocheting first off of the door with enough force to knock it partly from its' hinges and then crashing through a glass display case filled with volatile Dust crystals before finally hitting the wall were they slumped and crumpled.

At which point Astra realised that their opponents had not unlocked their Auras and that the pace and direction of this fight had just changed.

"Oh you picked the wrong place!" they taunted even as they were forced to raise their arms in front of their face to block as three of the remaining four thugs rushed at them, the first of which swung a metal bar at Astra which collided against their forearms and though bones were not broken as they might normally have been the sensation was distinctly unpleasant; the Deer Faunus responded by springing forwards into the criminals' guard and seizing the wrist before driving a fist into their bicep which forced them to drop their weapon and allowed Astra to use their grip and leverage to swing their opponent into a wall, from there Astra drove their right elbow into the burglars' nose and a left hook to their kidney with carefully measured, though perhaps still excessive force before sweeping their now bloodied and reeling opponent to the ground.

Two more attackers were on them in an instant, men perhaps a few years older than Astra both brandishing knives.

The Deer Faunus, blood pounding in their ears and heart racing with pure excitement rather than fear felt as though time had slowed to a crawl around them as lessons taught by Yang Xiao Long came to the forefront of their mind and with practised ease, technique only somewhat lessened by haste Astra threw a turning kick towards the first mans' head with their left, lead leg and was rewarded when their attacker came skidding and stumbling to a halt whilst leaning back so that the blow sailed over his face and missed by mere inches, at which point Astra carried the motion into a spinning back-kick from their right leg which struck the burglar in the chest and lifted them from the ground, sending them flying backwards and crashing through several shelves worth of stock despite this however Astra carried their momentum forwards without hesitation, completing their spin and throwing their left arm out to strike the second attacker in the gut and drag them to the ground at which point the two combatants wrestled for control of the burglars' knife until Astra their opponents' arm with both hands and a sickening, crunching snap of breaking bone filled the air before the criminals' howl of pain was silenced by a carefully judged blow to the face which left unconscious.

"Another one bites the-" Astra's closing line, delivered as they sprung to their feet and stood over their beaten opponents was cut short by a blur of motion from the right as the fifth, momentarily forgotten member of the gang of thieves leapt into action and the Deer Faunus took a single, frantic step backwards not a moment to soon as a thick gob of something oily, viscous and faintly glowing sailed through the space their head had occupied a second ago before striking the wall of the shop which promptly began to smoulder and crumble as whatever the substance was proved to be corrosive and destructive.

Clearly the work of some kind of Semblance

"In a Dust shop? Really?" Astra exclaimed incredulously only to be forced onto the defensive a moment later as a booted foot came rushing towards their head in a savage and uncoordinated flying kick which they managed to avoid only for this new assailant to lash out with a wild backhand with their left which struck Astra in the cheek followed by a right handed haymaker to the chest and a knee to the gut that left the Faunus reeling and struggling to react, their opponent took advantage of their stunned and winded state and with a roar of exertion took Astra by the antlers and simply swung them through the air.

Sending them crashing through the window of the shop and out into to street in a shower of glass.

"Okay ass-hole, I'm breaking both of your arms for that!" Astra snarled as the pulled themselves to their feet and shook glass from their body, struggling to make their voice as intimidating and aggressive as possible as their attacker hopped through the broken window and allowed the Deer Faunus to get their first proper look at them. The man who, by virtue of having an unlocked Aura, Semblance and simply being competent was likely the ringleader of this group of thieves was an avian Faunus who appeared to be in his early twenties with feathers of a dirty, almost oil-stained stained grey colour in place of hair, a thin mouth with chapped and blistered lips and wearing clothes that were perhaps a little more practical and stylish than the simple hoodies and sweatpants worn by their co-conspirators though lacked the distinct flair that would have identified him as a rogue or failed Hunter, this was simply a criminal who was a cut above those around them.

With nothing more to be said Astra and the avian Faunus lunged at each other again.

A blast of the corrosive phlegm Semblance came yet Astra had expected it and leapt aside, a patch of asphalt being reduced to a steaming sludge in their wake as they dropped into a low spinning sweep and attempted to kick their opponents' legs out from under them, the avian Faunus avoided the attack and so instead Astra sprung upwards to drive their right knee into soft tissue only to be halted by a downward elbow that sent jolts of pain through their leg as it connected, followed by a pair of swift gut-punches and a right hook that sent the Deer Faunus staggering back with their left cheek stinging and reddened.

"Go home kid, before the rest of the crew get back up and we use your teeth as dice" the avian Faunus spoke for the first time, his voice throaty and burbling yet all Astra heard was the dismissal and the insult it carried; the notion of being beaten or worse till disregarded by a simple Dust thief infuriating them to the point that their knuckles audibly popper and the leather of their gloves creaked before they charged forward without a word and leapt into the air.

"Suit yourself" the avian Faunus sneered, preparing to catch or counter the incoming right knee only to be caught off guard as Astra pivoted their hips and swung their left knee into their opponents chest with a crack; the moment they landed Astra swung their left leg into a sweep which their opponent avoided only to see for the ruse it was as the Deer Faunus's leg came arcing overhead for a crescent kick which they barely managed to avoid by leaning back. Their luck ran out a moment later however as the crescent kick was also revealed to be a misdirection and the moment Astra's left leg landed they carried their momentum into a roundhouse kick from their right leg which struck their opponent in the side and knocked the wind from them, followed by a rapid side-kick to the ribs which pushed him back several paces and gave Astra the space they needed to continue their assault by pivoting and leaping into the air to deliver a tornado kick to the side of their opponents' skull that sent him staggering and stumbling to the ground where he made several efforts to stand again with his Aura, a dirty green-grey colour flickering around him.

Until eventually he succeeded.

"Come get some!" Astra taunted, revelling in the opportunity to reverse the situation whilst at the same time forcing themselves not to lose focus and take stock of the situation, their opponent was larger and physically stronger than them whilst also having a dangerous Semblance however he was clearly untrained and relying of brute force as was proven when he let out a wordless bellow of rage and charged at Astra with his head down in a clear attempt to tackle him to the ground, the Deer Faunus responded to this with precision and seized their opponent by the shoulders and pivoted as he collided with them, carrying the momentum of the tackle into a throw that brought the two of them crashing to the ground with a thud and Astra straddling their opponent, pinning their arms and delivering a quick series of punches to the face that shattered the avian Faunus's Aura in a shower of flickering embers

"Like I said...another one bites the Dust" Astra panted out, suddenly feeling the toll the fight had taken on them but forcing it aside and maintaining their bravado in the face of their opponent before swinging their head down and bringing their antlers clattering against the burglars' face, knocking him out cold and loosening several teeth to end the fight.

At which point Astra finally became aware of the sound of sirens drawing closer just as the flashing blue light they cast began to shine on a nearby wall.

"Oh now they show up, of course" Astra sighed climbing off of their beaten opponent whilst taking care to stay kneeling and do nothing that could make the situation worse whilst placing their hands behind their head; Blake Xiao Long and her Faunus and workers rights coalition had done amazing work all across Remnant, especially here in Vale but lessons Astra's parents had taught them as a child were not easily forgotten and it was always better to be cautious. As a pair of police cars came to a halt and officers leapt out, cuffs and weapons at the ready Astra called out to them.

"My name's Astra Mars and I'm a Hunter….kinda"

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sunrise had come, bright and yet lacking any real warmth as always in the Kingdom of Atlas the following morning and with it Athena-Jade Slate had been awoken, her groggy protests about the absurdity of the hour quickly falling silent as her mind raced to catch up with her mouth and remind the Bear Faunus of exactly why she had been dragged from her sleep so early at which point she had all-but leapt from her bed and readied herself.

Gangrel Slate, former leader of Team GRAP had joined the Specialist Branch of the Atlas military following Salem's first defeat and had climbed the ranks until reaching a position of command wherein their only superior was General Winter Schnee, after several years of compromising his own morals and spending an amount of time away from his wife and children that he found himself unwilling to tolerate he had retired from active duty in favour of filling the Combat Instructor role at Atlas Academy; the upcoming school year and the influx of students preparing for their initiation process at the Icy Kingdoms' own Academy meant that once again however Gangrel was having to leave Schnee Manor at an unsociable hour for work though this time Athena-Jade was with as he had first drove to the cross-Kingdom airship terminal of Eisenstadt Prime, Capital City of Atlas so that he could see his daughter leave for Menagerie.

Now in his early fifties Gangrel's light brown skin, littered with battle scars was beginning to wrinkle and his dark and shaggy mane of hair was greying though his massive frame still boasted an almost impossible amount of muscle, his cybernetic left arm continued to give him an air of grizzled ferocity and his amber eyes had lost not of their sharpness, those eyes saddened however as the car, an expensive and likely impossible to replace vehicle from Whitley Schnee's private collection for the occasion came to a halt outside of the terminals and the two Bear Faunus regarded each other for a moment that seemed to stretch out for far longer than it really was.

"So" Athena breathed out, unfastening her seatbelt and running her a hand through her newly shortened hair that had mercifully been recoverable and now looked closer to what she had envisioned for herself, a snowy white undercut with her shaggy locks styles into dramatic downward facing spikes that reached between her jaw and shoulder but making no effort to leave the car "This is it huh?"

"Yeah, this is it" her father nodded voice thick with emotion until it softened as he saw her continued hesitation and added "Unless you're having second thoughts?"

"No, no doubts" Athena-Jade answered firmly and without hesitation though her shoulders sagged a little as she added "It's just…..It's normal to be nervous right?"

"Oh Oum yeah" Gangrel laughed gave a harsh, barking laugh "I mean your Granddad was living in Vale when I went to Beacon so it wasn't the same but your Mum, Weiss came to Vale from Atlas so she knows what it feels like better than me….You're gonna be fine though, we're all proud of you, we're all rooting for you kid"

"Thanks" Athena smiled brightly at that, displaying teeth just a little sharper than one would expect only for her expression to falter a little as the elder Faunus spoke again with a sudden hesitance in his voice.

"I've gotta ask you something though AJ….look I know I crack jokes about Atlas students being jar-heads but it's a good Academy, it produces great Hunters and I would have loved to see you there but you never even applied; it was the only Academy you didn't apply for….AJ is there something wrong, did I do something?"

"Not wrong, it's just…." Athena trailed off, expression becoming scrunched in concentration as she searched for the words she needed "I didn't want to go to Atlas because you're a teacher there-"

"Oh" there was no hiding the sudden hurt in her fathers' eyes at that

"I don't mean it like that I promise" Athena insisted, the words practically stumbling over one another in her urgency "But if the Combat Instructor is my Dad and Aunt Winter is the head then it's gonna feel like I cheated, like I had it all handed to me and everyone is gonna know it; I know Aunt Ruby and Aunt Penny are teachers at Breaktide but it's not the same….I just-I need to do this by myself, for myself"

"I get it" Gangrel assured her, low growl of a voice as gentle as it always was when speaking to his children "But believe me when I say you've got nothing to prove, not to me, not to your Mum….And I promise that when I say this I'm not doubting you but you will always be able to come home or transfer to Atlas, you'll do amazing anywhere"

"I love you Dad" Athena-Jade found herself sniffling slightly and her eyes stinging as she reached over and was readily pulled into a tight hug by the elder Faunus, her fathers' flesh and blood right hand patting her back gently.

"I love you too kid" Gangrel assured her "Now go on, go show 'em what you're made of….and say hi to your Aunt Ruby and Penny for us"

"You got it" Athena nodded as the two broke apart and as she opened the car door and began to step out she heard her father do the same behind her, a gruff chuckle escaping him as he added

"You've packed everything you need right?" a teasing glint in his eyes as he added "A know Menagerie's a lot warmer than Atlas but you packed a jacket with sleeves and a hat right? Y'know since all your hair ended up on the bathroom floor"

"Ugh, you suck!" Athena made an exaggerated display of sagging under the weight of her fathers' poor humour, only to be rewarded with another barking laugh as Gangrel opened the trunk of the car to help his daughter with her luggage. Straightening herself out Athena found herself staring at the entrance of the airship terminal whilst clutching her Scroll, on which her digital ticket was saved and realised suddenly that after talking honestly with her father her nerves were entirely absent and all that remained was a sense of eager determination as she stared at what could be seen as the first step of her true journey as a Huntress and rolled her powerful shoulders back.

She was Athena-Jade Slate and Menagerie had no idea what was coming.

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Astra Mars exited the police station and stepped out into the bright morning sun and late summer heat with a confident swagger and exuding an effortless bravado that was hindered only slightly by the slight discolouration of their left cheek that Aura would likely heal in a few more hours and the fact that their striking dark eyeliner and lipstick had been washed away.

After security cameras verified the truth of what had happened at the Dust store and identities and credentials had been verified the Deer Faunus had found themselves escorted out the cell they had been held in and the Aura dampening handcuffs unshackled from their wrists before being given a warning about excessive force that had been used in the fight against the burglars which was clearly a proverbial slap on the wrist with no real weight or intent behind it as was evidenced by knowing wink that the police officer delivering it had given. Astra had been forced to briefly weight their concerns about those responsible for upholding the law skirting it so freely, especially in regards to a Faunus against their own satisfaction at being praised for a job well done as it transpired that the avian Faunus with a corrosive Semblance was a career criminal by the name of Petrol who was suspected to be behind a spree of several dozen burglaries and arson attacks, someone with no reservations about harming others or ruining lives whose removal from the public could only be a good thing. Paperwork and statements had still needed to be provided after Astra's legal aid appointed by the Kingdoms' Council arrived and though the it had taken hours for the matter to be fully resolved they had finally been allowed to leave with no more than a warning about falsely claiming to be a Hunter, being a student of one of the Academies was neither the same thing nor an acceptable substitute.

The lingering buzz of their boosted ego left Astra the moment they saw a familiar station wagon parked on the curb outside of the police station with its' engine idling, an old and several-times repaired and rebuilt thing with many panels of its' chassis in odd colours that were yet to be repainted yet still in perfect working order; the drivers' window was wound down and an equally familiar, exacerbated voice called out to them.

"Get in" Astra did as they were instructed and slipped into the back of the vehicle, antlers and Mohawk brushing against the inside of the roof even despite the seats having being lowered and repositioned to accommodate such things; putting on a winning smile and mustering up as much of their earlier confidence as they could Astra focused on the dark skinned Faunus with reptilian scales covering parts of her flesh in the passengers' seat whose name was Myrtle and the older Deer Faunus clad in a set of stained overalls in the drivers' seat whose paler skin had the leathery, worn quality of someone whose live had involved great deals of manual labour, a man by the name of Redwood.

Astra's parents.

"So….did you have fun last night?" Redwood snorted, using the rear-view mirror to regard his only child and see that Astra was largely unharmed

"What on Remnant were you thinking? Fighting with gangsters, you could've gotten yourself killed!" Myrtle huffed.

"Not in any trouble with law are you?….I'd hate to have to ask Blake's people to spare a lawyer for you" Redwood added, the older Deer Faunus had not seen eye to eye with the famous Faunus rights activist or her approaches for several years though the two had come to something of an uneasy understanding once it had become known that the Xiao Long's adopted son as Astra' half-brother. Astra took a moment to let out a wide, jaw-cracking yawn and rub bleary eyes before disregarding their parents questions and asking one of their own.

"You're not mad are ya?"

"I was worried when you didn't come home or answer your Scroll" their mother answered with no small amount of hurt in her voice, which made Astra wince just as their father added.

"I don't understand you Astra, I try but I don't….But I'm not mad because I know you do the things you do because you think they're the right thing" the words were reassuring but Astra still felt an unshakeable urge to explain themselves and their actions

"It's what Ruby Rose would have done….what any Hunter would have done, I couldn't just do nothing and hope that the police turned up on time"

"Too much time on Patch around those bloody Hunters, they're all a bit touched" Redwood muttered before a glance from his wife brought an abrupt to halt to that line of conversation; Astra's parents had promised their unwavering support yet as a waitress and a mechanic, neither of whom had unlocked their Auras who had lived through both of the wars against Salem and lost people close to them they had understandable concerns about Astra's heart being set on a career as a Hunter where they would be brought face to face against the worst horrors on Remnant on a frighteningly regular basis.

"Be that as it may" Myrtle breathed out "It's time to go" and with one last look from his wife Redwood brought the battered old station wagon into motion, away from the curb and merging into traffic; Astra allowed themselves to relax for a few moments before realising that the expected rush hour traffic was absent as they drove through the city of Neo Vale, vast hive-towers housing thousands looming over the city with bridges stretching between them and massive aerial platforms hanging overhead which meant that the hour was later than they had initially suspected as suddenly bile rose in their throat as a terrible notion occurred

"Dad, step on it please!" they yelled out in sudden panic "I need to get home and get my stuff, what time is it? I'm gonna miss my-"

"No you're not" Redwood cut them off with a knowing smile that did little to halt Astra's sudden, wide-eyed and rapidly mounting panic.

"Your suitcase, a bag of loose things like your Scroll charger and your weapons are all in the trunk" Myrtle assured her child "We don't need to make two stops, we're going straight to the airships" Astra glanced out of the window and noted that whilst they were exactly well acquainted with the route from the police station to their home in the city the streets they were currently being driven through did not seem to be heading in that direction.

"Look Astra, I don't always get your choices" Redwood reiterated "But we'll always support you and do anything we can….You earned your place at Breaktide and we want you to be happy-"

"Just be safe" Myrtle added "And call us, we're going to miss you"

"I'm gonna miss you too" Astra croaked out a lump forming in their throat as a realisation suddenly hit them with the force of a solid object, they had lived their whole life in Neo Vale and as coming from a decidedly working class family they had very few experiences of life beyond the Kingdom they had been born into, now they would be leaving everything that was familiar to them including their parents for the next four years; trading it all for a chance to be the best version of themselves. The sudden panic which had now taken on a different, more introspective aspect as Astra considered just what lay ahead of them was interrupted as Myrtle reached back and pressed something into her youngest child's hands.

"Here, I thought you'd want to put your 'warpaint' on and put your best foot forward" Astra looked down and saw that their mother had kept the dark make up they wore as part of their daily outfit on hand so that it could be reapplied.

"Thanks Mum" they beamed, voice a little shaky and watery which Astra resolved to ignore.

"Just don't try and put it on in the back of the car with no mirror" Myrtle chuckled, Astra leaned back in the back seat of the station wagon and made themselves comfortable whilst trying to force their turbulent thoughts into some semblance of order; excitement battling with trepidation in the face of the unknown.

Popping the collar on their leather jacket and checking their vibrantly dyed Mohawk in the rear-view mirror Astra resolved to at least try and appear cool and confident, even if they didn't feel it at all.

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The late morning sun was hot enough to make the summer air stifling as it blazed down on Port Alistair, Capital City of the Kingdom of Menagerie though fortunately the architects, other designers and hundreds of skilled tradesmen who had built Breaktide Academy, amongst the best that Remnant had to offer and drawn from each of the Kingdoms for the monumental and prestigious task of building a new Hunter Academy had seen fit to ensure that the place was properly ventilated and equipped with air condition that could turn blistering Menagerie heat into a climate more akin to that of Atlas, albeit at the icy Kingdoms' most hospitable.

Which was why Ruby Rose was comfortable as she sat on an expensive leather sofa within the spacious staff room and browsed paperwork that she was already well acquainted with but wanted fresh in her mind, the new batch of potential students would be arriving in a matter of hours after all and there was no harm in double checking the details of their transcripts, not that she expected any of the would be Hunters to successfully lie their way into an Academy like the late Jaune Arc had done.

At forty seven years of age Ruby Rose, the veteran Huntress often called the saviour of Remnant no matter how uncomfortable the title made her still appeared to be every part the powerful and capable fighter that she was with even the signs of middle age simply making her appear more distinguished and imposing; much of her dark hair was tied back into a practical ponytail and whilst the first thin streaks of grey had begun to set in the tips were just as vibrantly red of ever with an untamed curtain of hair falling in front of her right eye and partially obscuring the faded but still ragged scars and faintly glowing cybernetic eye that gave a barely audible whir as it adjusted, a battle-scar earned in combat with Salem herself. Ruby's body was decorated with many more scars and an impressive collection of tattoos that she'd acquired over the years which were all hidden from view by her current outfit, though her toned muscles were still defiantly on display as her biceps and shoulders bulged and strained against the fabric; she wore a simple white button down shirt with black pants complemented with a red tie and suspenders though she had been unable to resist keeping some of her own personal tastes on display and still wore a pair of heavy, armoured boots that reached her calves fastened with several buckles whilst her signature cape, lovingly repaired after every battle yet still faded after decades of use hanging off her shoulder.

"Hey, heard you and Penny came in early this morning…..Guessed you skipped breakfast so this is courtesy of the big guy" the sound of a voice that managed to have a commanding presence to it even when entirely pleasant and conversational made Ruby place the transcripts, physical copies rather than digital down on the coffee table before her next to a plate piled with breakfast food before looking at the new arrivals, a pair Huntresses whose records were as decorated as Ruby's own and both of whom were long time friends; the speaker, clad in a turtle-neck sweater even in Menagerie's climate with an ornate necklace laid over it, sunglasses pushed low on her nose to give a glimpse of deep brown eyes and a curled strand of hair peeking from beneath a black beret was Coco Adel, Head Mistress of Breaktide Academy whilst beside her in much more causal attire including shorts and a flannel shirt worn open over a tank top, camera hanging from a strap around her neck and instantly recognisable by the pair of rabbit ears adorning her skull the right of which had been neatly severed roughly at the midway point decades ago, the Deputy Headmistress and Chief Engineer responsible for the Academies' workshops and fabrication facilities Velvet Scarlatina.

"Yatsu's with Little Fox?" Ruby asked, receiving a nod of confirmation from Velvet. The surviving members of Team CFVY were and forever would be tied to one another through bonds of love and friendship that formed a relationship which, whilst unconventional had certainly made those involved unspeakably happy that was based on Coco and Yatsuhashi's platonic love for one another, Velvet's romantic love for them both and the devotion all three of them had to raising the child Velvet and Yatsuhashi had produced, Fox Scarlatina; forever known as 'Little Fox' despite finding it decidedly uncool now that he was sixteen years old.

"Yatsu's taking him into the city to pick some last minute things up for school...and he's seen some sneakers he's just 'gotta' have" Coco rolled her eyes all whilst giving a delighted grin, no child she had a hand in raising would look less than fabulous after all.

"Penny decided to come in and give the transports a last minute check, then decided to give everything else a quick once over….we won't be using any of it today or tomorrow but it makes sense to do it now" Ruby explained between mouthfuls of food that she hadn't realised how much she had needed.

"Well if you're looking for something to do then I'm sure Arslan wouldn't say no to a sparring match, just to be on top form for the first day of class" Coco offered, gesturing vaguely at the door to suggest that the Combat Instructor of Breaktide Academy was somewhere on the grounds

"Is it really that bad?" Velvet asked with a worried expression

"Not bad, not even lonely when' Penny's there….it was just quiet, the house felt empty" Ruby admitted with a shrug, understanding what the Rabbit Faunus was enquiring about.

Nickel Polendina, the Atlesian combat android with an Aura and a soul intended to supersede Penny whom Ruby and her wife had taken in and treated as part of their family, who was also the current holder of the Spring Maiden's powers had left the family home roughly a year ago with her partner and was using her abilities to terraform parts of the island Kingdom that were not yet freed from the lasting corruption of Salem's influence whilst Summer Pyrrha and Tai-Jaune, Ruby and Penny's own twin children had recently departed for college to begin making their own way in the world.

Ruby was proud of them all and loved them dearly but had not expected the moment to be quiet so bittersweet.

"Well look on the bright side" Coco gave a feral, predatory smirk as she sprawled on the sofa next to Ruby and stole a slice of toast from her plate "In less than twelve hours we'll have a whole new batch of hormonal teenagers carrying weapons to deal with….I'm sorry did I say upside?"

"Find anything interesting in the transcripts?" Velvet asked, allowing herself a soft smile at Coco's antics whilst knowing that despite any facades she put in place she cared deeply for each and every one of their students and could think of no better way to spend the rest of her life than preparing the next generation of Hunters.

"Nothing we didn't already know" Ruby answered "My nephews' half-sibling is one of the new batch, Yang says they're a good kid and Weiss and Gangrel's daughter is coming"

"I remember when we took Team FADE on a mission in their second year" Coco noted in an aside to Velvet, the comment about relatives of the team reminding her of the affair.

"Other than that it's the usual bunch, rebels with a cause, rebels without a cause, thrill-seekers and a few potential trouble causers to keep an eye on; overall looks like a good bunch though"

"So you think it might be a quiet year without any drama for once?" Ruby regarded Coco seriously for a moment, pursing her lips as if in concentration whilst weighing up every possible outcome she could infer from the information at her fingertips before letting out a snort which gave way into full peals of laugher.

"Nope" she answered, popping the P for emphasis, which Coco supposed she should have expected.  
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**Author's Notes:**

Well first thing's first, to any new readers picking this up: Welcome. To my returning readers who've followed the Spiral-Verse since as early as twenty sixteen: Welcome back.  
Yes for those unaware, although it should be relatively obvious by the opening of this chapter this work is part of a series of stories I've been writing since I joined the FNDM in 2016 prior to the start of Vol.4 that are collectively known as the "Spiral-Verse" the reading order for them is: 'The Downward Spiral', 'Our Happy Ever After', 'FADE: Legacy' and 'Endless Spring' then this story.  
The Spiral-verse branched away from canon at around Vol.3/4 and this story is set roughly 30 years after that point meaning that this AU is now firmly it's own thing, however I appreciate that expecting everyone to go back and catch up with that much work is a big ask so I will endeavour to make sure that any previous events that become relevant in this story are recapped and given context….That being said I would still recommend at least reading from FADE onwards because I'm at a point where I can pull deep cuts from my own lore now.

Also, as a last bit of admin; I'm making it a mission for myself to create a space within the FNDM where people with OCs can thrive and be at the forefront because we do, understandably but frustratingly tend to get drowned out in servers that focus more on canon characters which is why I've created a Discord Server for artists and writers focusing on OCs to promote their work and hang out, anyone is welcome to join message me if you want a link.

Now, let's summarise shall we?:  
The start of this chapter is actually an, admittedly brief recap of what's happened in this universe thus far with the stuff about Team RWBY and any mention of my first set of OCs "Team GRAP" pertaining to the finale of The Downward Spiral and the stuff about Team FADE being a brief overview of FADE: Legacy.  
In my head the introduction (Or re-introduction if you've read FADE) to AJ was funny, I just had the image of her cutting her hair short in that symbolic Mulan way, just for it to pan out and reveal it to be happening in her bedrooms' en-suite and her to just be being edgy.  
If you want an idea of Athena-Jade's body type, she's a TANK, think Elm's muscle but shrunk down to Vol.1 Weiss's height…..Now take away Weiss's heels and I gave her an outfit that's a mix of practical and cool whilst being a departure from what you'd expect from someone raised in the richest part of Atlas, although she does have a belt collection like Weiss's.  
Okay so yeah AJ has two smaller Faunus traits, a black nose like a bears and claws in her fingers, I'm not even saying that it's against canon because no matter what they say Blake has cat eyes as well as her ears, we've literally seen then with slitted pupils.  
The band-aids are cute and you know it.  
Of course she used a bowie knife.  
Okay so the idea of Coral just being stupidly tall was actually given to me be SumoSnipe, a regular reviewer of the stories in this series who pointed out the with sufficient food certain kinds of crab will just keep going….Also she was adopted by Weiss and Gangrel but she doesn't call them Mum and Dad, Whitley is still Uncle Whitley though.  
What are siblings for if not reading you to absolute filth when you're trying to be cool.  
The name Breaktide comes from breakwaters, which are a kind of coastal defence because I thought would make sense for an academy built in a port city and also I've described Grimm attacks as being a 'tide' plenty of times before so it works on that level….Also yeah, a lot of the Professors are canon characters.  
Yeah Ruby and Penny's twins aren't gonna feature in the story too heavily just because the cast is gonna have enough people in it and I don't really have much of a use for them….Also I mentioned in "Endless Spring" that they're old enough to be considering leaving home to go to college and stuff.  
"You suck, you suck so bad, you're the suckiest" is a classic line that I had to bring back for this story.  
Okay so one thing I'm gonna get out in the open with Astra is that in this story they use they/them pronouns, they used He/Him when they were introduced in FADE: Legacy but they were a child in that story and over the course of going through puberty and training on Patch that's changed; I addressed it once here and that's that, we'll be using they/them pronouns going forward.  
Also, I noticed whilst writing it that Astra's backstory does have a Mary-Sue vibe to it which honestly can't be helped because they started out as a minor character in the main character of another stories' arc although will certainly not have the infallibility of a Mary-Sue.  
"What would Ruby Rose do?" well Ruby happened to be in the right place, she didn't go out looking for crimes to stop but here we are.  
No weapons being shown yet, I'm saving those because weapons are an extension of the soul and Astra's weapons will say a lot about them.  
I actually based a lot of Astra's appearance on Eli/Hawk from Cobra Kai and parts of their characterisations will be similar, Astra's red leather jacket is also loosely based on Johnny Lawrence's jacket from Karate Kid….Which I actually have a replica of.  
Also I'm just gonna say it, anyone who wears a sleeveless gi is probably a twat.  
Okay so I know a few people who read FADE are probably a little disappointed that Astra isn't just using boxing but I feel like after training under Yang they would have branched out to other things like Yang herself has in canon; besides what's the point in having a Karate Kid/Cobra Kai influenced character if you're not gonna put some Synthwave on full blast while writing their fight scenes and have them throwing out all the kicks.  
Take note of Astra being a little heavy handed, that's definitely gonna become an issue later.  
Okay I'll say now that the boss fight character isn't gonna be a recurring character like Roman, they're just a spare, half-thought out pun of a character idea I had lying around that I used to show Astra's abilities.  
I want you to know that series of kicks that Astra pulled out isn't anime logic, it is entirely possible to pull that off.  
It had to be an antler-headbutt that finished.  
And of course this is where the police turn up….Also yeah police are still racist in Remnant because are still racist in reality; my distaste for them is well known and will transfer to my writing.  
Gangrel was my first RWBY OC, a nineteen year old Third Year student and now I'm writing him as a man in his early fifties watching his kids grow up and leave home; honestly made me feel some kind of way.  
Yay for Athena's salvaged haircut, now she looks cool.  
So here's a little character moment for Athena-Jade, she doesn't want to be limited by the family name and feels like she's got to prove herself because she feels like she's gotta measure up to all these heroes in the family and doesn't want to use the weight of the family name to do it….Also let's be real, a big part of it is probably the 'Middle child' thing.  
Had to have one bit of parental teasing about the hair.  
Ah the "Released without charges" walk, I know it well.  
Of course the police were okay with the brutality, they were only gonna brutalise people themselves it's what they do.  
Okay so the bird Faunus was called Petrol and spat a toxic/corrosive phlegm up as a Semblance, they were a Great Southern Petral Faunus….google that and see why it's funny.  
Modified cars to accommodate people with antlers and other Faunus traits are probably a pretty big business now I think about it.  
"I don't understand you Astra, I try but I don't" is probably a running theme in the Mars household; Astra's parents love them but are also not part of the Hunter community and only have the outsider perspective of what being a Hunter is.  
I went to a community college for a year so I don't have the whole moving away from home to study experience but I feel like nerves and homesickness are big parts of it.  
I want you all to take a moment and compare AJ and Astra's final thought; Athena-Jade was raring to go, she's good and she knows it whilst Astra, for all their bravado is a nervous mess.  
Our first look at the new Academy is from the staff from because I want to give Breaktide its' due and have the first look at it from outside be a proper moment.  
Yeah the Professors are people that knew Jaune so of course there's checks for anyone trying to bullshit their way in.  
Enjoy the image of bad-ass milf/cougar Ruby.  
So basically Velvet, Coco and Yatsuhashi's relationship can be summed up as "Velvet has two hands"….Also they have a kid that all three of them parent, Little Fox; who is apparently a sneaker-head.  
Ruby Rose and Penny are basically recent empty-nesters, Nickel Polendina rode off into the sunset in Endless Spring and their twins have gone to college.  
"I remember when we took Team FADE on a mission in their second year" FADE: Legacy Easter-Egg to a fight involving a laser-toting muscle car and a Spinosaurus Grimm.  
"The usual bunch, rebels with a cause, rebels without a cause, thrill-seekers and a few potential trouble causers to keep an eye on" is she wrong?  
Had to bring back the popped nope.

As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.


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